Guide to Building
Introduction Building is a key element in playing Ikariam. Buildings must be built in order to have the ability to perform other tasks. The Academy is one of the first buildings that are available to be built, and, via researches at the Academy, enables other buildings. Town view and building Buildings can only be built from the Town view of a player's own town. All buildings are immovable once placed (except if completely demolished). :There is no strategic advantage to geographic placement of buildings within a town. Materials cannot be gained faster by placing the Warehouse near the Wall, nor do Cargo Ships loading at the Trading port load faster by placing the Trading post or Warehouse nearby. It is not possible to place duplicate types of buildings in a single town (not true for the warehouse). Building prerequisites There are no building co- or pre- requisites. Aside from researches, buildings have no ties to one another. It is true that certain buildings cannot be built without appropriate research at an Academy, but once the research is completed for an eligible building, that building can be built without the existence of an Academy. Any building may be built or upgraded without regard for the building level or existence of buildings other than the Town hall. A special exception is that neither the Town hall (automatically built and centered in the new colony when the colony is completed) nor the Governor's Residence (which can only be on a Colony) can be built without a Palace of appropriate level built at the Capital. Resources required to build Most of the early buildings that are available to build need only wood to build. The first town's initial allotment of resources is ample to build immediately. To build, simply click on a parcel of land that contains a red or blue flag, and choose from the available building(s) that are listed. :If there are eligible buildings, the reason for inability to build might be because of insufficient resources, a building already being constructed or expanded, or, in the case of Barracks or Shipyard, Units or Ships are in queue. Buildings levels Each building starts at Level 1, and is capable of being upgraded or demolished * In Town View, hovering with a mouse over each building shows its type and level. * Clicking on a building shows the building's capabilities and on the left side, shows upgrade and demolish buttons, as well as the current level and costs for upgrade of the current building. Upgrading buildings Upgrading a building also requires resources, and at certain levels requires more than only wood to increase. Buildings take time to build and increase level. While a building is being built, or a building is increasing its level, no other building actions are available. It is, however, possible to cancel a building's construction. To cancel a building's construction, click that building and then click "Cancel". A confirmation screen will appear and indicate how many resources will be recovered when canceling construction. Canceling a construction upgrade may return a slight percentage of goods spent. Demolishing buildings The "Demolish" button downgrades one level at a time. * Demolishing/downgrading a building takes no time. * Demolishing/downgrading a building costs you some materials, but you do not get back 100% of the materials it took to build to that level. When a building reaches Level 0, it is completely torn down and the building ground becomes available again. * If you click the "Demolish" button this will appear: : "Are you really sure you want to reduce the building level by one level? Keep in mind that at the current expansion level only ##% of the purchase cost will be returned!" The following resources are returned by demolishing a particular level of a building: ;Notes: :This chart is originaly from the German ikariam wiki. :The minimal amount returned from Demolish'''ing any building has been confirmed to be '''5%, you will always get at the very least this amount no matter what the building level is. Category:Game mechanics Category:Guides *